Earth Day Shock: Environmentalists Fear Trump’s Plans to Strip Nonprofits’ Status!

Environmental organizations are on high alert over a potential move by the Trump administration to challenge their tax-exempt status, possibly coinciding with Earth Day this upcoming Tuesday. Several media outlets reported this concern on Wednesday.

The speculation about this threat has emerged alongside reports that the Trump administration is contemplating stripping Harvard University of its tax-exempt status. This action against the prestigious university could represent the beginning of a wider crackdown on nonprofit organizations that do not comply with the demands of the administration.

“The rumor that Trump will target the tax exemptions of environmental groups is today’s buzz circulating around Washington, D.C.,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, in a discussion with E&E News. “There are numerous speculations about the dreadful actions Trump might announce on Earth Day, basically as a snub to everyone.”

Anonymously, sources informed Bloomberg Law that various conservation and environmental organizations are gearing up and forming legal teams in anticipation of these rumors. According to Bloomberg Law, Trump’s potential order could also cut off their funding and label them as domestic terrorists.

“We’re trying to stay calm, since we’re not sure what will happen,” Hartl explained to E&E News, but he indicated that environmentalists would “unite and support one another.”

Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, also told Bloomberg Law that his organization is prepping for any possible executive order and will pursue legal action if necessary.

Organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice, classified under 501(c)(3), enjoy exemption from federal income tax and are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

Environmental activist and writer Bill McKibben responded to the reports by pointing out that these threats are surfacing amid the “continuous reduction of federal funding for climate science.”

“I have deep respect for many of these individuals, and I am endlessly impressed by their commitment; it’s a privilege to be associated with them, even just as a volunteer,” he commented. “It was probably inevitable that Trump and his team would come after us; we have been a thorn in the side of his allies in the fossil fuel business. And in today’s America, if you resist compliance, you metaphorically get hit. One hopes it remains metaphorical.”

The only authority that can investigate and revoke a tax exemption is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and high-ranking officials from the executive branch are strictly prohibited from requesting the IRS to start or halt an audit of a taxpayer, as reported by The Washington Post. There are specific conditions under which the IRS may revoke a tax-exempt status.

“Neither the President, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, nor the IRS can revoke the federal tax-exempt status of any entity by executive order or simply with a pen,” stated Jeffrey Tenenbaum, an attorney specializing in nonprofit organizations, on Thursday.

He further clarified that revoking federal tax exemption involves “individual IRS audits of each organization, with sufficient opportunity for the entity to defend itself, including multiple avenues for appeal.”

CNN reported first on Wednesday that the IRS—now under a Trump-appointed interim commissioner—is considering whether to revoke Harvard’s tax exemption. This news followed Trump’s post on Truth Social suggesting that “perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be taxed as a Political Entity if it continues to endorse political, ideological, and terrorist-influencing ‘Sickness.'”

Trump’s remarks about Harvard have amplified the anxieties of environmental groups regarding potential actions against their tax-exempt statuses, according to E&E News.

“The rumors seem credible because this is the playbook they use,” an anonymous environmental funder told E&E News. “That’s why people are taking it very seriously.”